“Let everything that has breath praise the Lord.”

[Psalm 150]

Today, I finally had the opportunity to meditate on the last Psalm, Psalm 150. I began meditating on Psalm 1 on Wednesday, September 21, 2005, and today, September 30, 2009, after 4 years and 9 days, I have arrived at Psalm 150. About 3-4 weeks ago, during the Saturday morning prayer meeting, while praying, I thought that, if it is the Lord’s will, I might later publish the Psalms I’ve meditated on as a book, so I’ve been revising Psalms starting from Psalm 1, and still continue to do so. Personally, I am truly grateful to God. Through the meditations on the Psalms over the past 4 years, God has allowed me, without even realizing it, to slowly become a little more like the Psalmist, and for that, I am thankful.

In particular, I thank God for granting me the grace to follow the Psalmist’s prayers. As I have meditated on the Psalms, I have received grace to imitate the Psalmist’s prayers. During yesterday’s morning prayer meeting, after delivering the message, I began my personal prayer by praising God’s goodness. God led me to sing the gospel song "Good God" and also to sing “I will not exchange the Lord for anything…” while praising God’s sovereignty. Like the Psalmist, and as Paul and Silas did in Acts 16 when they prayed and praised God in prison, I also find great joy and delight in offering time for prayer and praise to God.

Also, I want to personally thank you. Over the course of these 4 years, it hasn’t been easy for you to continue listening to the Word of God through this imperfect servant, from Psalm 1 to today’s Psalm 150. Yet, you have faithfully stayed with me, and for that, I also give thanks to you for your perseverance in walking with the Psalms until the very end.

Today, I would like to meditate on the final Psalm, Psalm 150. This Psalm is the last of the “Hallelujah” Psalms, which range from Psalm 146 to 150, and it reaches the “climax of Hallelujah” (according to Park Yun-seon). Especially in the last verse, verse 6, it reaches the peak of Hallelujah, and the Psalmist says: “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Hallelujah.” Today, focusing on this verse, I would like to meditate on four aspects of praise under the title “Let everything that has breath praise the Lord” (Reference: I will meditate based on Pastor MacArthur’s commentary).

The first thing I want to reflect on is the question: Where should those who have breath praise God?

Look at Psalm 150:1 in the Bible: "Hallelujah! Praise God in His sanctuary; praise Him in His mighty heavens." The psalmist says that we must praise God "in His sanctuary" and "in the firmament of His power." What does this mean? "His sanctuary" refers to the Temple in Jerusalem, and "the firmament of His power" refers to the heavens, that is, the kingdom of heaven. In other words, this verse tells us that all living beings should praise God both on earth and in heaven (Psalm 148:1, 7, MacArthur). Simply put, we are to praise God by making use of all places worthy of praise (Park Yun-seon). We must praise God everywhere. Not only should we praise Him while we live on this earth, but we should also praise Him eternally when we reach heaven.

Secondly, let us reflect on the question: Why (Why?) should all those with breath praise God?

Why does the psalmist urge all living beings to praise the Lord? What is the reason? There are two reasons:

(1) The reason why all those with breath should praise the Lord is because of God’s mighty acts (Because of what God has done).

Look at the first half of Psalm 150:2: "Praise Him for His mighty acts..." What are God's mighty acts? For example, God's acts of holding us, guiding us, and protecting us—these are all mighty acts of God. In particular, when we speak of God’s mighty acts, we cannot overlook His power of salvation. During the Exodus, God delivered the Israelites from Egypt, demonstrating His power. He also led them to the promised land of Canaan, showing His mighty power both in the wilderness and in Canaan. We too have experienced this power of God, continue to experience it, and will continue to experience it. For all these mighty acts of God, we should praise Him.

(2) The reason why all those with breath should praise the Lord is because of God’s great greatness (Because of who He is).

Look at the second half of Psalm 150:2: "...Praise Him according to His excellent greatness." Our God is an exceedingly great God. To this great God, we should rightfully offer our praise. Especially when we think of how this great God has loved us—small beings like us—with His immense love and has saved us by His great power, we should praise Him. We should praise God because of His mighty acts and His great greatness.

Thirdly, let us reflect on the question: How (How?) should all those with breath praise God?

Look at Psalms 150:3-5: "Praise Him with the sound of the trumpet; praise Him with the lute and harp; praise Him with the timbrel and dance; praise Him with stringed instruments and flutes; praise Him with loud cymbals; praise Him with resounding cymbals." The psalmist is exhorting us to praise God with trumpets, lutes, harps, timbrels, stringed instruments, flutes, and cymbals. What does this mean? In short, it means that we should praise God with all the instruments we can (Park Yun-seon).

Finally, the fourth thing I want to consider is the question: Who (Who?) should praise God?

Look at Psalms 150:6: "Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. Hallelujah!" In summary, this verse tells us that we should gather all who can praise and praise God (Park Yun-seon). We should not only praise God using all places that can be used for praise and with all the instruments available to us, but we must also gather everyone who can praise and praise God. Everything in heaven and earth must praise God. Not only the angels in heaven but also every living being on earth must praise God.

At this moment, let us all rise and sing together "Praise the Lord, O my soul" (Thank you, my soul; Rejoice, my soul) and give praise to God.

With the desire to praise God as long as I have breath,

Pastor James Kim
(With a heart of gratitude for the grace of God received through meditating on the Psalms)